Music Notes and Broken Dreams
by Fiona Sunshine
Summary: Drake Parker can't see straight. Him, the rockstar. Him, the badass. Not him, the father.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Carly, in case you don't remember, was in the episode where Drake and Josh have a bet to see who can get the most girls. If her name was Kylie…my bad. I can't remember. And if I don't get enough Reviews, I assume no one's interested and I stop continuing the story. So if you like it…let me know! This is going to be in four pieces.

Disclaimer: I don't own Josh, just Drake. Haha…I wish.

"So yeah, we're really interested in signing your band. You guys have a lot of untapped potential." Alan Douglas, from MuchMusic records, was standing right in front of him. God, this was amazing. His band had just played an amazing showcase for a lot of fancy suits, but the MuchMusic label was the one he wanted more than anything else.

Drake Parker grinned and ran a hand through his short brown hair. "That's so, so great. Just give me a call, anytime at all, and we can schedule a meeting. We don't have a manager yet, but if you want us to have one, I'm sure it can be arranged."

"Drake?" Drake turned and saw his girlfriend of six months, Carly, standing behind him with a strange expression on her face. "Can we talk real quick?"

Drake shot her a tense smile and shook his head about a centimeter. "In a sec, hun." He turned back to Mr. Douglas. "Thank you so much."

"It's nothing at all. I know talent when I see it. And you, my friend, have talent." He clamped a hand on Drake's shoulder. Geez, kind of hard. He winced for a second.

"Drake, it's important." Drake turned his head and saw Carly still standing there. She looked damn cute, in her tight black sweater and pre-frayed jeans. But _this_ was important. Landing his dream was important.

"So is this," he whispered fiercely, and she turned and walked away. God, did she have to get all dramatic right this second? She hadn't even so much as congratulated him.

"My people will be in touch," Mr. Douglas told him with a wink and another super hard pat. "Nice going, kid." Drake grinned as he walked away, then turned and whooped with excitement.

"_Yes,_" he exclaimed, running towards Carly and throwing his arms around her. "Sorry I sort of blew you off, but that was a rep from MuchMusic records. You know how it is, right?" He pulled back and didn't get an answer. Instead, he noticed that her face was tear-stained and her eyes were worried. "Carly? What's wrong?" He pulled her over to the corner of the room, away from most of the celebration. "Are you mad at me? I'm sorry, I just…"

"God damnit, Drake. Did you ever think for, like, 10 second that maybe I had something really important to discuss with you?"

He stepped away from her. "That _was_ important." Really. She was lucky he wasn't mad at HER. "Seriously, Carly, did someone die? Because nothing else could be more important than that conversation."

"I'm pregnant."

What. The. Hell.

The news hit him like a ton of bricks. His mind was racing…was she sure? Was she sure it was _his?_ Why did this have to happen? How were they going to tell people? What was she going to do? He was going to have a kid? He slouched into a chair, his jaw dropped, his eyes wide. "From…me?"

The tears started gathering in her eyes again. "You know I've never been with anyone else."

He leaned forward, laid his head on his arms, which were crossed on his legs. Curled up in a ball, maybe he could think better. He felt Carly's head lean against his shoulder, he felt her whimpers coming out.

"You're sure." He stated.

"I took six tests, Drake," she whispered. "I kept hoping the next one would be negative."

For a full five minutes, they simply sat there. There was a problem of such an enormous proportion in front of them, it seemed almost unrealistic to try and tackle it.

"What are we going to do?"

He sat up and wrapped his arms around her. He didn't have any words to respond with. Because he had no fucking clue.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: More reviews, please. I have an unhealthy need for them :-P But thanks for the ones I was given! And actually, this is to be in five parts…sorry. The last will be a short epilogue.

"Drake?"

Drake Parker slowly walked into his house and slammed the door shut behind him. He pretended as if he hadn't heard his mother. She was the last person in the world he wanted to speak with right now- but the first person he had to. Carly had gently told him that although she was telling her parents tonight, it was best for him not to come. After all, her father probably wasn't going to want to calmly discuss the matter with the boy that had knocked his daughter up- even though he was much, much more than that. But the thought of telling _his_ parents scared the hell out of him. If Carly was along, there was a much less chance of him being murdered.

"Drake? Hun, is that you?"

He sighed and turned on his heel before walking into the kitchen. "Yeah, Mom. I'm home."

"I was wondering if you have any big plans for tomorrow night," his mom said, while peeling carrots over the sink. "Walter and I have tickets to a play, and we need someone to stay home with Megan."

"Can't Josh do it?" he grumbled, opening the fridge and grabbing a soda. His stomach dropped at the idea of having to stay home every single night…to watch his _own_ kid…God, this should be happening in 10 more years. Not _now_.

"I think he and Mindy are going out. Do you mind?" She smiled at her son and took a swig of her own soda.

"Yes, I mind," he snapped. "Josh goes out with his lame girlfriend practically every night. Why should I have to stay at home and watch the devil?"

"Drake!" His mom looked shocked. "If you have plans, we'll hire a babysitter. We'd just rather not spend any money we don't have to…your new guitar you got for your birthday set us back a bit."

Drake winced. Like he needed this right now? "Sorry," he mumbled, and he turned to go upstairs.

At dinner, the Parker-Nichols clan settled around the table and passed around vegetable stew, mashed potatoes, and brownies for dessert. Throughout dinner, Drake snapped on Walter for telling the same lame joke he told every night, snapped on Josh for gabbing too much about Mindy, and snapped on Megan for rigging his glass to spill milk all over him.

Every night, the kids rotated who had to clear the table and wash the dishes. When Megan informed him ever-so-smugly that it was his turn, he let all of his anger bubble out.

"God damnit!" He complained loudly. "Am I the only one that does fucking anything around here?"

"_Drake_!" His mother banged her fists on the table. "That is _enough._ I don't know what your problem is, but you've been nothing short of impossible since you got home! What is _wrong_ with you?!"

"Carly," he announced, "is pregnant." It hadn't meant to be dramatic effect, it was just what she wanted to know. It was _exactly_ what was wrong with him.

Walter was absolutely speechless, and froze with his glass halfway to his lips. Josh's jaw dropped about four feet as all his food fell of his fork, and Megan spat her brownie bits all over the rest of the table in a surprised shower.

After nearly a full half minute of silence, his mom focused 100 of her energy into remaining calm. "Drake. Michael. Parker," she said in a shaky voice. "Living. Room. Now." It was as if speaking in sentences longer than one word would be the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Megan, do the dishes," he heard Walter order, and for the first time in his life, his little sister shut up and did what she was told.

Drake pushed back his chair and followed his mom out of the kitchen, softly shutting the doors behind her. She walked over to the blinds between the two rooms and shut them quickly, before turning on her son.

"Oh my God, Drake. Is she _sure_? And she's sure it's…you know…because of you?"

"She took a shit load of tests, Mom, and I'm the only one she's ever…done that with. I have no idea what she's even planning on doing with…it." He sat down and groaned. "This is just too much."

His mom took a deep breath and sat next to him. "I'm not mad." She put her arm around him and pulled him close. "Anger won't do anything right now. But Jesus Christ, Drake, didn't you and your father ever talk about this?"

"In between beatings?" He snapped. "No."

"Couldn't you have used Josh's for this _one thing?_" Damn, his mom was close to tears. He hated that.

"I'm sorry, Mom," he said quietly. "I'm so, so, sorry. But I didn't need…that talk. I wore a condom every time, I swear. I don't know how this happened."

"Every time?!" she screeched. "God, Drake, how many times did you _do_ it? No, don't answer that. I don't want to know."

Drake felt like a little kid as he buried his head into his Mom's shoulder. "I guess I need to call her."

"I guess so, honey," Audrey said softly. "Don't worry. We'll get though this…we're all here to help, even your sister. But you'll need to let us."

"I will," his voice cracked. His own eyes brimmed over with tears.

"I love you," she reminded him. "I'm disappointed in you, I can't lie about that. But what's done is done."

He let out a sob and his mom hugged him closer.

They sat like that in the living room, cuddling, for a full hour before his mom told him softly that she was going to bed. "It's been a long night," she told him. "Everything will look better in the morning. We'll get it all sorted out." She gave him one last kiss on the cheek before heading to her room. He slowly got up and walked to his own room. After entering, he flopped into his bed, not even looking at Josh.

After a few moments of silence, his stepbrother finally spoke to him. "I'm really sorry, Drake. I know things are gonna be really tough, but I'm here for you brotha."

Drake forced a smile. "Thanks, dude." He rolled over in bed to face Josh. "I don't know how this happened. I really fucking don't."

"Well, I'm guessing when you and Carly realized you were truly in looooove, you – "

"This isn't really the time for jokes," he groaned. "We made sure we were always safe."

"It could've slipped off. Or broken. I guess you'll never know," Josh agreed.

Drake felt the tears coming back and he quickly sniffled them back. He needed to sleep. It was all he could do, right now.

Drake was walking out the door, dressed in ripped jeans and a real leather jacket. He was holding a bright red guitar. "Drake," Carly informed him. "You can't go to your concert tonight! You need to take care of Drake Junior." She shoved a baby at him- one that was pooping, crying, and screaming all at the same time. "You need to be more responsible."

_And all of a sudden, he looked like his very own father. He had on thin, black, wire-framed glasses and a three piece suit. He saw his hand raising, he didn't even know what was happening. And there was a three year old boy, just sitting there. He reached out his hand and SMACK!_

"Drake? Are you okay?" His sister was standing above him. He sat up with a start and realized that all his blankets were on the ground…which meant Megan was staring at him in his boxers. He grabbed a blanket and shielded himself.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he breathed. "Nightmare."

Megan perched on the bed and looked around. "Your mom and Walter are running errands…and Josh is at work." She turned to face her big brother. "Were you dreaming about Dad?"

"No," he lied quickly. Megan took things about their abusive father much harder than even he did.

But what if Carly did want to keep the baby? And he grew up…exactly like him? What if being an asshole was genetic?

Carly. Shit. He had to call her. He hadn't been able to forget, even in his dreams.

He quickly shooed Megan out of his room and grabbed his cell phone. He flipped it open and hit speed dial #1.

"Drake?" a voice answered.

"Carly," he sighed. "Hey."

"Hi." She sounded as if she'd been crying. "I told them."

"Really?" He sat on the couch. "How did they take it?"

"Better than I thought. I'm alive." She exhaled. "They want me…to get rid of…_it_."

Drake's throat closed up. Was that what he wanted? He didn't know. Part of him said yes. She was only 16, himself only 17. It could erase everything. All of his problems…everything. But did the baby really deserve to die just because they had had an accident? Wasn't it's life to be valued? But could it even really be considered a life yet? He didn't want to regret it, every single day. But no matter which way things turned out, that had a great possibility of happening.

"What do _you_ want?" He asked her cautiously.

"I…" she started crying again. "I don't know, Drake. It's so complicated. I'm going to the doctor's office today, to make sure everything's okay. But I just don't know. I'm sure I'm pregnant. All of those tests couldn't have been false, and there are…signs. What am I going to do with it? God," she sobbed. "I hate my life."

It broke Drake's heart to hear her talking like that. "Don't ever say that," he told her. "You don't hate your life. It's just fucked up right now, babe."

"I can't get an abortion," she told him quietly. "I just don't think I can. Every day I would think about it. How old it would be. If it was a girl or boy. I want…to keep it. I can't imagine it being any other way."

Drake's heart pounded. Keeping it. That would mean he'd pay a whole lot of money every month. For the rest of his life. Did this mean they had to get married? And being a rockstar…would that ever get to happen? Or would it be just another broken dream lying on the wayside?

"I support you, no matter what you decide," he told her. "But take some time. These things can take a while to decide."

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too."

A/N: I have no idea where the abuse thing came from. It just like, popped out. So let's see if I can fit two overused things into one story and have it not totally suck! Review!


	3. Chapter 3

Nine long months passed. Months filled with Lamaze classes and ultrasounds. Drake picked up two different jobs and let his guitar gather dust in the corner of his room. He busted his butt working at the local pharmacy- he would get an awesome employee discount on diapers- and also picked up extra hours at the movie theater, where Helen graciously returned his job after hearing the news. Carly's parents still weren't thrilled about her decision to keep the baby. They endlessly reminded her that it was going to be an enormous responsibility, and they wouldn't be able to help her very much. This was something that if she was going to do, she was going to do virtually alone. She simply reminded them that she had Drake and said that this is what she wanted. And it was. In her heart, she truly believed she and Drake could do this…maybe they could even get married someday. It was every girl's dream, just 10 years too soon. Their parents didn't want the baby to live with Drake at all, at first. Since it was so young, it was going to need a constant living environment. Carly had known this was probably going to happen when she made the decision to keep her baby, so she was prepared. But it did make her a tad uncomfortable when Drake simply mumbled, "Fine by me."

But there was relentless bullying, too. She got endless bad looks from strangers in the grocery store or at the library. The woman in her Lamaze classes were all at least 25- she, at 16, was not only the youngest but the _much_ youngest. People slut sneezed in the hallways, and sure, when Drake was walking beside her he'd shove them into the wall. But he wasn't always there. He wasn't always there in the morning, when she was throwing up, or at the end of the day, when her swollen ankles throbbed as if she'd been shot in them. It was hard for Carly, but she knew it was _nothing_ compared with what was to come.

And it came. Oh, it came.

Exactly one month before she turned seventeen and two and a half months before Drake turned the big 1-8, she was sitting in her room, eating pistachios and noticing how grossly large she was, when she suddenly felt liquid all around her.

_Shit,_ she thought to herself. After all, frequent urination was a sign of pregnancy, but she could normally tell when it was coming.

But when she noticed what it really was, she started whimpering.

"Mom!" she shrieked. "_Mom_!"

And there they were, in the hospital room. Carly was lying on the hospital bed with a doctor peering in between her legs. Her mother was holding her right hand, Drake holding her left.

"It's gonna be okay, baby. You just have to get through this," he reminded her. He had a ridiculously uncomfortable look on his face, but Carly knew he was trying his best.

But this was so weird. God, it was weird. He wanted kids, of course…eventually. But not now. And here was a girl who looked much too young, lying on a bed, giving birth. To a baby he had helped create.

"Push, Carly, hun," Dr. Markowitz ordered her. "You're so close. 10 centimeters. One more good push, and it'll be out."

"I can't," whimpered Carly, trying to turn on her side. "Give me drugs or something! Please!"

"You signed up for a natural birth, dear," Dr. Markowitz softly reminded her. "Just push. You can do it." She looked up and shot Drake a look. "Dad? You think you could help a little?"

Drake sighed and leaned down, putting his face right by Carly's. Their eyes met, and for just a moment, the look of wildfire in her bright blue eyes softened. "I can't," she murmured. Drake ran his fingers through her hair.

"You need to."

And with one more push, the head was coming. And the baby was sliding out and there it was, all disgusting looking. The doctor took it and washed it off, while proclaiming excitedly that Carly had done perfectly, and the baby was breathing normally, and that it was so beautiful. And that Carly and Drake now had a gorgeous little daughter, one that weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces.

Dr. Markowitz handed the baby off to Carly, once it was cleaned and wrapped in a blanket. It still wasn't very cute, but man it's bright red skin was soft. It had tufts of brown hair, and it's blue eyes were closed, but she had all her fingers and toes.

Drake looked on as Carly held her daughter to her chest. "She's beautiful," she exclaimed breathlessly. "She's perfect. Just perfect." Carly looked up at Drake. "I knew it would come to me."

"What?" he asked, slightly coming out of the transfixed state he'd been in. Watching birth was the most exciting and disgusting and wonderful thing he'd ever watched.

"A name," she reminded him, an exhausted grin spread over her face. "Emma. She's Emma Rae Parker. That's all she is."

Drake felt a smile creep on his face. "Emma. It's perfect. She looks just like an Emma."

After the nurse had scrawled down the baby's name and time of birth, than ran outside to inform Drake's parents they could come in, Carly smiled tiredly up at Drake. "You want to hold your daughter?"

Did he? He didn't even know. But he held out his arms and felt Emma being gently placed in them. He held her in an awkward position and looked at her. She was going to be pretty, he could just tell. But he didn't see a miracle, like Carly did. He saw something that they had created. Something that was going to crush his dreams…and ruin his life, not improve it. He thought he'd finally feel better about Carly's decision when he had the kid in his arms. He loved her and he supported her and nothing, _nothing_ could change that. But it was the beginning of one life and the end of another one. His.

He handed the baby off to his mother, who was cooing about how perfect she was, when he announced that he needed to go to the bathroom and took off. Once he was in a stall, he put his face in his hands and thought he'd start crying. But then he realized that this disappointment in himself was beyond tears.

A/N: I know, I'm updating rapid fire. But I can't stop writing this story!


	4. Chapter 4

Having a baby was like doing six different things at the same time, with one hand, while standing on a bus. When she was done crying, she was hungry. When she was done being burped, she needed her diaper changed. Carly was exhausted, but she couldn't sleep. Ever. She was on full time Baby Emma patrol. She never complained, though. The last thing she needed was to have a big fat Told-You-So thrown in her face by her parents.

But they were noticing, too. The deep blue circles that never faded. The cute grin and sparkling eyes that no longer appeared. She stopped listening to music, she stopped reading. Her grandma was kind enough to watch Emma during the day on weekdays, but after school and on Saturdays and Sundays, she was all Carlys. That was why all of a sudden, one Saturday morning, they appeared at the Parker/Nichols residence with a baby, a diaper bag, and a crib.

"Even if it's only for a week," Carly's mother begged Audrey. "My daughter needs a rest. A real one. And it might be a good idea for Drake to spend some time with her."

Audrey surveyed the situation, then slowly nodded.

"All right. We'll take her."

Drake came jogging down the stairs and stopped when he saw the sight. "What's going on, Mom?"

"We're going to be taking Emma for a week," Audrey replied, with a smile pasted on her face. "Won't that be fun?"

He stared at the bundle of stress and time, wrapped in a pink baby blanket in her grandmother's arms. Everyone was looking at him expectantly. He should be thrilled, that he got to hang out with his…_baby_ for a week. His baby. The thought made him sick to his stomach.

"Whatever." He turned and walked into the kitchen.

Carly's dad sighed, and her mom put her face into her hands. "I know that we asked Emma live with us all the time, at least for now. But she _is_Drake's too."

"I know," Audrey assured them. "She'll be fine here. This week will do him good, I'm sure of it. He's just not used to it. He's only a little boy, practically."

"Carly's not exactly collecting social security," her father reminded Audrey gently. "But you're right. Maybe they'll…bond." Drake's mom nodded, and the two parents left.

"I hope so," Audrey murmured to their backs. "I really, truly do."

Drake bit into an apple in the kitchen, after silently listening to the conversation between his and Carly's parents. He then quietly whispered to himself.

"Don't count on it."

In the days that followed, baby Emma got acquainted with her daddy's family. She absolutely loved her Uncle Josh, who played with her toes and made faces at her. _He's basically a big baby himself,_ Drake smiled to himself, but quickly wiped it off his face. He interacted a bare minimum with his daughter. He held her occasionally, but when she cried, he handed her off. He didn't put her to bed, or feed her. Her crib was in his parents' room. He acted as if she were just some strange guest in the house, invited by his parents.

Walter didn't like it. "We need to force him to act like her father," he argued. "We're _not_ her parents. She's his responsibility, and how do you expect him to own up to it unless we make him?

But Audrey disagreed. "He needs to want to," she said. "This is hard for him. We want him to want to be her father, not feel like he has to be. Otherwise…nothing will change."

But Drake didn't want to be anybody's _father_. He was a brother, a best friend, a boyfriend. He wasn't a dad. He didn't want to worry about bills and making lunches. He wanted to play guitar. He was already stressed enough with two jobs, desperately trying to raise money to help Carly. He didn't want the actual baby in his house, too. God, why did everyone think this was going to be so fucking easy? This wasn't a joyful baby born, it was an accident. A mistake.

On Tuesday night, the night before his huge biology test, he was woken up by a loud scream. He sat up in bed, alert, before realizing that the baby's crib was in _his_ room, and that she was awake and crying. What was she doing here? He did feel a tad bit bad, though. His parents had been really nice about her, always getting up in the middle of the night to rock her back to sleep. His mom and done it already to him and Megan, and Josh's father to him. Now it was his turn. He wasn't ready, but whether he liked it or not, he had to be. It was his turn. Right here, right now.

He stood up and padded over to her crib. He then reached out his arms and scooped her up. She looked into his eyes, her own glorious blue ones filled with fear. _She doesn't recognize me,_ he thought to himself, not sadly or happily. It was fact.

She reached up her little arms, so soft and sort of pudgy, and howled. She wanted her mother, not him. He didn't know what to do. Well, he was used to that feeling.

So he improvised, and opened his mouth.

"_My gift is my song, and this one's for you_

_And you can tell everybody that this is your song_

_It may be quite simple but,_

_Now that it's done,_

_I hope you don't mind, _

_I hope you don't mind, _

_I put down in words, _

_How wonderful life is, now you're in the world._

_I sat on the roof, and kicked off the moss._

_Some of these voices, well they've got me quite cross._

_But the sun's been kind, while I wrote this song._

_It's for people like you, that keep it turned on._

_So excuse me forgetting, but these things I do._

_See I've forgotten if they're green or they're blue._

_And, well, the thing is, what I really mean._

_Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen._"

She stopped crying and snuggled up to him. She was warm in his arms.

Audrey peeked her head into Drake's room. And there he was, holding her, and looking at her with complete adoration. Father to daughter, like it was meant to be.

A/N: the song Drake wrote is from Moulin Rouge, also sung by Elton John. Go rent Moulin Rouge, it's the best movie ever.


	5. Epilouge

A/N: Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. I plan on making more Drake and Josh stories, some with Emma and some without. So keep reading my fics!

Five Years Later.

"DADDY!"

A 21 year old Drake Parker laughed and held open his arms, while his newly-turned-kindergartener thrust herself into them.

"Hey, Emmareezy!" He twirled her around and smiled at Carly. They were no longer dating. It had been hard, when they broke up, but they had been crazy teenagers when they started going together. They had grown up, and they were different people now. They were still close, obviously, since they shared the most important thing in both of their lives. They were just more mature now. They had to be.

"Hey, you," he said, kissing her on the cheek.

"Hi, Drake," she replied. "Take care of my baby doll." The new custody arrangement called for Emma to be passed off, week by week. Neither of them would have it any other way. Drake still lived with his parents. Raising kids was expensive, and he had been there to help Carly every step of the way. It didn't leave a lot of extra cash, but he didn't mind so much. He attended classes at the community college. He still wanted to be a big bad rockstar, but he was between bands right now. He had an audition later that week. Sixteen year old Megan loved the weeks where Emma would come and live with them- she was more of a cute and cuddly little sister than a niece. She and Emma liked to plot together against Drake, playing evil pranks. He thought she would've grown out of it by now, but instead the pranks steadily increased. Josh was off at Harvard, and Drake loved visiting him there. Audrey and Walter were more or less the exact same. Things couldn't have worked out better. They still got weird looks…often. When he and Carly dropped Emma off at kindergarten, they were by far the youngest parents. And people looked. Oh, they looked. One had even gone so far to ask if they really thought they were "old enough to be raising such a young child."

Drake had given up a lot for Emma, but he wouldn't have it any other way. When he turned down Rolling Stones tickets for a chance to watch a Barney and Friends video with her, his friends thought he was nuts. They called him Daddy and teased him, but they were all secretly big softies. They loved having Emma come watch their jam sessions on guitars, and they laughed when she danced around happily.

"Guess what I have," Drake whispered mysteriously.

"What?" Emma asked excitedly.

Carly sighed and rolled her eyes. "Drake, tell me you didn't buy the double stuffed oreos again." But she grinned. That was what made Drake such a good father- he was practically a kid still. He still loved double stuffed oreos, chocolate for breakfast, staying up all night, and driving too fast. He had cleaned up, that much was for sure. But Drake Parker was still…well, Drake Parker.

Drake grinned mischievously and pulled out two tickets. He handed them to Emma and whispered to her what they were.

"THE WIGGLES!" Emma shrieked so loudly, Drake plugged his ears. The moment he had seen the commercial that announced that Emma's favorite singing group was coming to San Diego, he had gone and bought tickets. "I'm going to the wig-GLES! I'm going to the wig-GLES!" She started a happy dance and kept shrieking gleefully.

Carly laughed. "How fun!"

Drake laughed and pulled another ticket out of the back pocket of his dark colored jeans. "You didn't think we'd leave Mommy out, did you?"

Carly chuckled and took the ticket. "Well, what a perfect way to spend my Friday night that I have off." She bent down and kissed Emma. "I'd love to accompany you."

"Yay," she squealed. She threw her little arms around Carly's neck and kissed her back. "Bye, Mommy."

"Bye, honey bun." She hugged Drake good bye and left.

That night, an exhausted Drake tucked Emma into bed and laid down next to her. Her bright blue eyes twinkled at him. "Sing me my song, Dad. I haven't heard it all week."

He grinned and played with her fingers. Being a dad wasn't easy or perfect, but he loved every minute of it. Back when his Emma Bear was born, he had taken into account the money she would cost, the sleepless nights, the time spent just trying to get her to go to sleep. But he had forgotten the most important things. The sticky kisses, and the colored pictures, and the bedtime songs. The love.

"_My Gift is my song,_

_And this ones for you._

_You can tell everybody,_

_That this is your song…"_


End file.
